The Florida Marlins have signed 35-year old lefty reliever Randy Choate to a 2-year, $2.5 million dollar deal plus incentives. Choate pitched in 85 games (0 starts) for the Rays last season and he was 4-3 with a 4.23 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP. He has now pitched in 342 games (0 starts) in his first 10 years in the majors and he is 10-10 with 5 saves, a 4.39 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP. I really like this signing for the Marlins as Choate could really excel if he’s used as a lefty specialist.

The Marlins have signed 25-year old lefty reliever Darin Downs to a minor league deal. Downs pitched in 41 games (4 starts) in AA+AAA-ball for the Rays and he was 12-4 with a 2.95 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP. He whiffed 102 batters in 88 1/3 innings last season so the Marlins might have something here. Downs has pitched in 200 games (70 starts) in his first 8 years in the minors and he is 44-36 with 2 saves, a 4.02 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP.

The Marlins have signed 27-year old switch hitting 2B/3B Ruben Gotay to a minor league deal. Gotay played in 139 games in AAA-ball for the Cardinals last season and he was 135 of 473 (.285 avg, .845 OPS) with 84 runs scored, 13 homers and 70 RBIs. Gotay last played in the majors in 2008 with the Braves. Gotay has now played in 316 games in his first four years in the majors and he is 185 of 726 (.255 avg, .685 OPS) with 84 runs scored, 12 homers, 77 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. Gotay will get a shot to win a job on the Marlins’ bench next spring.